Fountain brush



Jan. 16, 1934. vcg, w, JOHNSON FOUNTAIN BRUSH Filed March 24, 1935 INVENTOR we WdohHS/JD ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 16, 1934 PAT ENT OFFICE FOUNTAIN BRUSH George W. Jolnrson, Diamond Springs, Calif.

Application March 2 1,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to brushes for use with creams or pastes such as shaving, tooth, and paste brushes; my principal object being to provide a brush of this general character having a means for feeding the cream from the interior of the brush handle onto the bristles in any desired quantity and a means for conveniently and easily refilling the cream containing area when the supply therein is depleted.

By means of my improved brush, when constructed for instance for shaving or tooth brushing purposes, it is unnecessary for the owner to carry a separate tube of cream or paste for use with the brush, since a supply of such material suflicient for a reasonable period of time is selfcontained within the brush. My improved brush is thus particularly suited for the needs of travelers though of course it is also useful for everyday use in the home. Therefore, even though the initial cost of my brush may be necessarily somewhat higher than that of the ordinary brush of good character, the convenience afforded by its use will more than oifset such additional cost.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a side view mainly in section ofa shaving brush constructed according to my invention showing the plunger somewhat advanced.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the brush at one end showing the plunger fully retracted.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the reservoir of the brush being filled.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1. I

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing, the brush comprises a head 1 having bristles 2 mounted therein in the usual manner but so as to be clear of the center of the head. The head is removably secured on the adjacent end of a barrel 3 which serves both as a handle and as a reservoir for the cream, paste or other plastic material to be dispensed. A piston or plunger 4 is slidably seated in the barrel and is held against rotation byengagement with a longitudinal head 5 or the like in the barrel. The plunger has threaded engagement with a screw rod 6 to which the one end is turnably secured by a nut 7 in a metal open work spider 8 mounted at the adjacent end of the barrel. At its opposite end the rod is secured in nonturning relation to a turnable manipulating knob 1933. Serial N0. 662,461

9 turnably mounted in and extending beyond the corresponding end of the barrel for manipulation by the fingers. This knob not only serves as a means to manipulate the rod but also forms a closure for the adjacent end of the barrel; the nut 7 on the opposite end of the rod preventing withdrawal of the rod from the barrel and holding the knob in the necessary close contact with said barrel.

The head 1 is provided with a central passage 10 therethrough communicating with the bristle area and with the barrel to the sides of the nut '7 through the openings in the spider. Said nut projects into the passage 10 which at that end is enlarged so as to accommodate the nut and still leave ample space therea'bout for the passage of the cream. A ball 11 normally engaging a valve seat 12 disposed'in the passage 10 is held against the seat by a spring 13, said ball moving from its seat in the direction of the bristles or away from the barrel. It will therefore be seen that when the knob 9 is rotated in one direction the plunger will be advanced in the barrel and the cream will be forced past the ball valve and into the bristle area, the ball reengaging its seat when the pressure on the cream is released so that there is no tendency for the mass behind to dry out. This feature also prevents water from getting to the cream at any time without interfering with the proper washing of the brush.

In order to refill the barrel after the plunger has been retracted to its limit of travel toward the knob, Ipreferably provide the following arrangement. The rod inside the knob is enlarged and is provided with a passage 14 leading from its outer end to its periphery just beyond the plane of the plunger when the latter is in its fully retracted position as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The passage terminates at its outer end in a wide flaring mouth 14a having a tapped portion 141) at the base. A removable plug 15 normally engages this threaded portion and also fills the mouth to close the passage as shown in Fig. 2 and also keep the flaring portion in a clean and sanitary condition. ables the mouth of an ordinary cream or paste tube 16 to be placed in the flaring portion of the passage 14 in wedging relation thereto as shown in Fig. 3 without having to screw or otherwise secure the mouth of the tube in said passage.

Upon the tube being then squeezed, its contents are discharged without leakage through the passage 14 and into the barrel. The flaring" mouth enables the desired wedging engagement Removal of the plug en the difierent sizes of the latter which may be encountered.

While I have particularly shown and described my invention as being applied to a shaving brush it will be obvious that the same principle can be as readily applied to a tooth brush or to paste and other brushes used in working or dispensing plastic material of the general consistency of a cream or paste.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a fountain brush, a tubular barrel for plastic material, a turnable knob on one end of the barrel, a screw rod secured to the knob and 1,948,893 to be had with the mouth of any tube release of projecting through the barrel, a non-turnable plunger through which the rod is threaded, said rod having a passage leading from the outer end of the knob to the periphery of the rod within the barrel at a point inwardly of the fully retracted position of the plunger, and a removable plug normally closing the outer end of the passage.

2. A structure as in claim 1, in which said passage terminates at its outer end in a flaring mouth to wedgingly engage supply tube mouths of different sizes.

3. In a fountain brush, a barrel, a bristle head on one end of the barrel having a passage therethrough formed with an enlarged portion intermediate its ends, means to force material from the barrel through the passage, a valve ball in the enlarged portion of the passage to close the adjacent end of the relatively restricted portion of the passage in the direction of the barrel, and a compression spring between the opposite end of said enlarged passage portion and the ball and engaging the latter to hold it normally closed.

GEORGE W. JOHNSON. 

